Fragile Hope
by SLPikachu
Summary: Jess is tired of the life his mom has them in but she won't stop the drugs, booze, and the revolving door of men that come into their lives. So the young boy turns to the only decent guy he knows. Can his uncle be the one to help get his mom and him out of this nightmare? (Jess is five)
1. Part 1

**Fragile Hope**

Young Jess was busy playing in his room, making his Ninja Turtles action figures fight Shredder and his Lego henchmen. He made kicking noises with his mouth as Michelangelo took down the mini yellow people in one swoosh.

"Cowabunga," Jess said, trying to copy what the character says on the cartoon.

Just as Mikey was about to take on Shredder, next, shouting echoed from down the hall. At first, Jess was about to go hide under his bed like he usually did whenever his mom got into a fight with one of her latest boyfriends, but then suddenly a sound of a slap was heard, followed by a loud crash and his mom's cussing.

Something inside the small boy made him spring to his feet and race down the hall, stopping just before reaching the entryway of the living room/kitchen.

Peeking around the frame, he saw his mom laying on the floor, propped up on one arm and nursing a bruised eye.

Chuck was standing over her, a half empty beer bottle in his hand. Despite it being February, all he had on was ripped jeans and a white tank top. "Dn' ever speak that way to me ag'n, bi'ch!" His words slurred, exposing his drunkenness.

At that, Jess sprang from his hiding place and dashed over to get between Chuck and his mom.

"Don't hurt my mom!"

Of course, that only made Chuck even more angry. "Get outta here, you lil' rugrag!" He grabbed a hold of Jess' long sleeved camo shirt and threw him to the side. "Can' ya see us grown-ups are talk'n?"

Jess landed hard on the old, stained carpet.

"Go back to your room, sweetie," he heard his mom tell him. "I'll be in to tuck you in, later. Alright?"

Jess looked over at her, getting a better look at his mom's eye. That's when he noticed blood was also dripping from her head and onto the floor, forming a puddle. The bruise near her eye looked like it was swelling up, as well. "But, Mom," he tried to object, worry for her read all over his face.

"I said, go," she ordered him but still with some gentleness in there.

Tears were fighting to surface, not wanting to leave his mom alone with that horrible man.

Suddenly, Chuck started walking towards the boy when he still hadn't moved. "Wa's wrong with ya? Can' a smart lil' bookworm such as yerself follow a simple order?" The guy grabbed up Jess once more and dragged him back out to the hallway.

The minute he did, Liz leaped to her feet and tried to get Chuck to drop him, pounding her fists against his back, ordering to let her son go. Chuck quickly spun around and backhanded her where she lost her footing again.

"Stop hurting her, you...you…you big dick!" Jess tried his best to squirm away out of the man's strong grip on his shirt. He swung his small fists at him and kicked his feet but to no avail.

Soon, he felt himself being flung through the air and landed on the floor of his bedroom.

"Now, you...you stay put in 'ere, otherwise, I'm gunna have to teach ya a lesson." With that said and done, Chuck slammed the door shut, leaving Jess to lay there. His toys were scattered around him. He ignored the pain in his side from landing on Michelangelo.

Jess tried his best not to give in to the tears that were still fighting to surface. But, the fact he felt he had failed in trying to protect his mom made it all the more difficult.

After a few minutes, unable to bear the pain from his side, he pulled Mikey out from under him and just clutched the hard plastic turtle in his hand, close to him, holding his one and only friend for comfort.

Finally, the battle was won but Jess wasn't the victor. Instead, tears began pouring down both sides of his face as more shouting was heard for another five minutes straight before he heard the front door squeak, and then slammed and soon, quietness filled the small, two bedroom apartment.

Hoping it was Chuck who had left, Jess pushed himself to his feet and went over to reach up for the doorknob, opening it enough to peer down the hall.

Swallowing first, he mustered up some courage to call out. "Mom?"

No response. Had it been Chuck, he would have yelled at him. So, Jess slipped out and made his way back to the living room. He was still cautious, though, just in case.

Jess peered into the living room, seeing no one. Slipping more into the room, he looked around until his light brown eyes saw his mother sitting over at the table, lighting up once again.

Making his way over, now a little more confident now that he knew it was Chuck who had left, Jess climbed onto the chair beside her.

"Are you okay, Mom?" He couldn't help stare up at his mom's swollen eye, noticing the trail of blood dripping down the side of her face from her head.

"I'm fine, sweetie. Go back to your room before Chuck comes back and finds you out here." She took a puff on her joint, no doubt about to get high once again.

"But, Mom, you're hurt. You need a doctor," he tried to insist.

"I'll be fine, Jess. Trust me. Now go, I don't want him touching you," she too tried to insist.

"Then, make him go away. Tell him, he's not allowed here anymore," Jess just argued back at her, not giving in.

His mom took the joint away from her mouth. "You know I can't do that!" she snapped at him. "Now, get back to your room, please."

Jess still wouldn't budge. He just sat there, hoping pleading with his eyes would get her to listen.

"I said, go!" She too grabbed him and yanked him off the chair, shoving him towards his room.

Jess managed to catch himself that time since his mom didn't do it in the same manner as Chuck did. He did look back one last time to see she had gone back to trying to get high. He tried to open his mouth but no words came that time.

Turning back around, Jess slowly made his way back to his room, still clutching Mikey in his hand.

Once he was back in his room, Jess shut the door behind him and went over to drop on the edge of his bed. He sat there for a long time just staring at his action figure as it looked back at him. Why couldn't he be more brave like his favorite Ninja Turtle? Better yet, why couldn't he have magical powers like Matilda? That'll show Chuck he can't mess with them.

Jess looked over at the book on his nightstand which was actually an upside down milk crate with a small reading lamp sitting on it.

Laying down on his pillow, Jess grabbed the book and continued to read _Matilda_ to try and take his mind off of everything and escape to Matilda's world. Not that hers was any better, what with mean parents, an older brother who bullied her, and a principal who was just plain evil. At least she had a way to deal with them.

Jess got a few more pages in before sleep overcame him. When he woke up again, the room was in darkness, quickly realizing night was upon them.

He looked around as Jess sat up, putting his feet on the floor. The apartment was quiet except for the sounds of New York's after hours were heard outside. Somewhere, a dog barked from a distant.

Clutching Mikey in his hand, still, Jess crept over to the door, opening it just enough to poke his head out. The light was still on in the living room but this time he could hear the heavy snoring of Chuck from across the hall.

Slipping out, he tip-toed down the hall and looked around the wall. This time, his mom was nowhere in sight. Jess moved more into the room for a better look. Nothing. The chair she had been sitting in now was vacant.

He crept back out into the hall and carefully made his way over to peek his head into the master bedroom. Chuck's big, calloused feet hung over the edge of the mattress and box springs that sat on a metal bed frame. Beside him was his mom, sleeping while cuddling his arm.

Jess' little heart just about stopped at what he saw. But before tears could even begin to fight, it slowly turned to rage.

Quickly but quietly, Jess hurried back to his room and grabbed his backpack for school. He then started packing a few clothes that could fit, plus his toys he was playing with earlier and his book.

He slipped back out to quietly grab his toothbrush from the bathroom and some cookies from the kitchen since there wasn't time to make himself a sandwich, in fear of Chuck waking up. That said, he finished packing what he could and got his shoes and jacket on, zipping it up before tip-toeing over towards the front door which made him a little nervous since it squeaked whenever someone opened it.

Thankfully, Jess only opened it enough for him to fit through, avoiding the squeak in the process and made his way in search of a pay phone. Before he left, he had made sure to pack the jar of change he was saving up for a new book to read.

The streets were mostly quiet but a car would drive by every few moments. New York never really died down completely after all.

A few blocks away, Jess managed to spot a payphone underneath a streetlight. He hurried over and had to stand on his tip-toes to at least reach the metal cord of the receiver, pulling it down. His eyes scanned the payphone for the change shot, spotting it at the very top and out of his reach.

He looked around at his surroundings in hope of anything he could use to stand on to be able to reach and of course dial his uncle's number, the only other person he knew he could call and the only decent guy the boy knew. But, there wasn't anything in sight. However, it was inside what looked like an open box to him.

So, pushing himself up, onto the ledge, which was just wide enough for his legs to hang off of, Jess pushed in the coins needed and dialed his uncle's number.

" _If you or Jess ever need help, call me. Day or night,_ his uncle's words echoed in his mind as Jess pushed each number on the keypad. Jess held the receiver to his ear that was basically the size of his head.

It rang and rang over and over again.

"Come on, Uncle Luke. Come on," he prayed to himself, under his breath. "Please pick up."

It eventually stopped and his uncle's voice came on the phone, sounding like he was out of breath. "Hello?"

"Uh...Uncle Luke?"

"Jess? Jess, is that you?"

"Who else calls you Uncle Luke?" Jess couldn't resist with a smirk.

"Alright, smartass," Luke told his nephew, unamused as the boy couldn't help snicker.

"Did you just call me for that?" he questioned. "Because I almost hurt myself, getting out of the shower to come answer the phone."

"I really don't need that picture in my head, Uncle Luke," Jess said, slowly shaking his head. He was holding onto the edge of the payphone for balance so he wouldn't fall.

"I'm hanging up, now, Jess. Good night."

Before his uncle could actually hang up, Jess yelled out, "Wait!"

"What is it, Jess? It's late and I'm tired. Plus, I have an order coming in, early, tomorrow, I gotta be up for."

"Oh." The boy suddenly fell silent.

His uncle must have sensed something was wrong. A truck drove by, blowing its horn at someone. Jess had his back to the street so he couldn't see who it was. "Jess, what's wrong?"

Suddenly, the tears resumed their fight.

"Jess, talk to me. What happened? Is it your mom?" There was a sense of urgency in his voice.

The verbal thing was starting to come and go and always at the worst possible time. His chest was starting to heave.

"Jess? Come on, buddy. Talk to me. Tell me what happened."

Wiping his face on his jacket sleeve, the boy mustered up to get some kind of words out. Something. "Please come get me."

"Where are you?"

Jess looked over his shoulder, noticing he was at an intersection. The light above the street signs said, tenth and Main Street. He managed to read off the signs to his uncle.

"Okay, stay put. I'm coming to get you." That said, both uncle and nephew ended the call and hung up.

Once Jess hung the receiver on the hook, he climbed down and turned around to finally get a look at his surroundings. Jess clutched Mikey in his hands, shivering from the cold. Listening to his uncle, he sat on a cement ledge that was beside the payphone, staying put with a streetlight illuminating him from overhead. The boy wasn't sure how far away his uncle lived having never visited him. His uncle had always visited them, especially whenever his mom had gotten them in deep water again.

Sitting there for a good fifteen minutes, a rumbling sound was heard from his stomach. Taking off his backpack, Jess opened it and dug out the cookies he had brought, wishing he had milk when he twisted the cookie apart and licked off the filling before eating the actual cookie pieces.

Jess munched on enough to satisfy his stomach for now and put the rest away, slinging his backpack back onto his back. Still holding onto Mikey, he brought his feet up to pin his knees to his chest to try and get warm, his arms between his front and his legs.

After a while, he tried to read some more of _Matilda_. Being late in the night, Jess ended up dozing off again, being awakened by some guy reaching out to him.

"Hey, kid. What you doing out here all alone?"

Jess just stared up at him, ready to kick him in the balls if needed.

The guy reached out to touch his cheek. "How about if I take ya somewhere? Get ya somewhere warm? How's that? You like pizza?"

Jess kept silent, staring up at him. He did jerk his head away from the guy's touch.

"Now, don't fight now. You don't want any trouble, now do ya?" The guy tried to take hold of Jess' arm but he was able to bolt to his feet and out of the way. Just as the guy was about to make another move, the two of them were engulfed in bright headlights pulling up and stopping by the curb.

They looked over in time to see the door on the driver's side, open and someone step out and storm around the front of what Jess could make out to be his uncle's truck. Sure enough, Luke was coming over, glaring right at the guy.

Grabbing a hold of the guy by the shoulders, Luke jerked him away from Jess before punching him in the face and telling him to get out of his sight before he does even worse to him. The guy looked back over his shoulder as he walked away, glaring at Luke.

With him taken care of, Luke focused on his nephew, kneeling to his level.

"Jess, what the hell are you doing out here all by yourself?" He immediately took off his own jacket and wrapped the boy in it, noticing Jess still shivering. The grown man's jacket practically engulfed the five-year-old's small form like a large blanket.

Standing up, Luke led his nephew over to his truck where he opened the passenger side door and lifted him inside, closing the door afterwards. He then hurried back around to his side and slid in under the wheel.

Luke reached over to make sure the vents were on Jess to warm him up. He also turned the heater up a little more before turning in his seat to fully face the boy, demanding once more why he was out there alone and where was his mom, starting one of his rants how he must have broken about fifty laws getting here as quick as he possibly could.

His uncle held a firm expression towards the boy, awaiting an explanation. Unfortunately, the verbal thing came and went again, and Jess stared down at nothing in particular.

"Jess William Mariano, I am waiting," Luke held it just a bit more. Despite his uncle not being that fond of kids, the guy still had a soft spot for them, especially him. Out of the corner of his eye, Jess could see his uncle's facial expressions soften.

"What's going on, Jess?" he asked in a gentle tone this time.

Jess was fighting back the tears once more, not wanting to break down in front of his uncle. But, thinking about all that had happened earlier and what he saw that caused him to leave, it broke him once again as a lone tear floated down his left cheek.

His uncle must have seen it because he felt himself be pulled in after Luke had scooted closer, and held the boy in his right arm.

"It's okay, Jess. I'm here, I'm always here."

Jess allowed his uncle to hold him. Before long, he was burying his face into the familiar flannel his uncle always wore, gripping Mikey in his right hand.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **This will be a two part mini story so there will be one more chapter coming. I've had this idea stuck in my head for quite a while now and finally decided to get it out.**


	2. Part 2

Fragile Hope

Jess sat on the end of the bench seat in his uncle's truck, staring out the window. His eyes were constantly blinking as his head kept falling over as the little boy tried to fight sleep. The boy expected his uncle to be taking him back to wherever he lived, but that was proved wrong when his uncle pulled into a small parking area and parked after driving for a very short while.

Jess sat up and looked out the window to find they were at the apartment complex where he had run away from. Why had his uncle taken him back here for? Jess had all he wanted to take with him. He didn't mind leaving the rest behind. Though, he would love if his mom would come with them. Jess didn't want to think what would happen if she didn't, or what Chuck would do next.

Managing to find his voice, Jess asked, "Why are we stopping here for?"

Luke turned off the truck, taking out his keys. He shoved them inside the pocket of his jeans. "Jess, I'm sure your mom is probably worried sick about ya."

He looked away, dropping his gaze. Yeah, right. His mom probably was still high and knocked out.

"Why? Why don't you want to go home?" his uncle asked.

Jess continued staring towards the floorboards. It was amazing the guy never had any trash in his truck like other guys usually did.

His uncle broke his thoughts, bringing him back to reality. "Jess? What's going on?"

He could feel his face glow warm and it wasn't from the inside temperature of the truck. Jess had thought he had finally gotten it out of his system, but more tears seemed to be fighting to leak out.

"Je-"

"He hurts her," Jess finally blurted out.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jess could see his uncle freeze in place, his mouth open, slightly. "Wha…?"

A lone tear managed to escape. "He's been hurting her. It looked really bad this time."

"Who's been hurting who?" he asked. "Someone's hurting your mom?"

Jess felt himself nod his head slowly. A lump was starting to form inside his throat and it was getting hard to swallow.

"Is he there now?"

Again, he nodded.

His uncle looked away, shaking his head. Under his breath, Jess heard him, curse, "Damn it, Liz," as he hit the top of the seat.

Turning forward, his uncle straightened out to pull his keys back out and stuck it back into the ignition, starting the truck up again.

"Stay put. Keep the doors locked and don't open them for anyone. I'll only be a minute," he told him.

"Where are you going?" Jess asked, unsure if he wanted to be left alone out there. Chuck could pop up out of nowhere while his uncle was inside.

"I'm getting your mom," was all he said as his uncle slid out of the truck, locking his door before closing it. When he came around to Jess' side, he opened his door as well to make sure it too was locked before shutting it again and headed up the walk. His uncle disappeared inside the chain link gate. Jess watched him until he was gone.

Since his uncle left the truck running, Jess scooted over to turn on the radio. His uncle's old people's music immediately came on and it wasn't even the good kind of old music. He changed it to the radio station, him and his mom would listen to and sing along with, together. Those were Jess' favorite moments.

To a five-year-old, time seemed to move really slow as Jess waited for his uncle to return. Hopefully his mom would willingly come with him. As Jess sang along with the singer on the radio, his eyes scanned around at his surroundings, hoping no one noticed the small child alone in a truck.

Jess knew his uncle enough to know he was probably giving Chuck, a new one, and that's why he did not want Jess there to witness it. Though, Jess would pay all the change he had left in his jar, to see Chuck get what's coming to him.

After what seemed like forever, Luke finally reappeared from the gate. To his relief, his mother was with him, balancing halfway on his uncle's shoulder.

Jess couldn't help beam from ear to ear, glad his mom was coming with them and away from that big dick.

When they were close enough, Jess was already unlocking and opening the door before his uncle could ask, scooting over so Luke could help his mom inside. Once she was sitting, he pulled down the seatbelt enough to stretch it across her lap, asking if Jess could fasten it while he hurried over to his side. Jess heard a thud from the back, indicting his uncle had tossed the bag he had been holding on his shoulder, back there.

Telling Jess to fasten his seatbelt, Luke did the same, turning the truck's engine over and pulled out of the space he was parked in.

As he drove, Luke reached over to turn the music down, a little. "What are you listening to?" he questioned of the boy.

"Mom and I's favorite music," he replied.

"Don't you want to listen to some other kind of music?"

"You mean what you had on?" Jess asked. "No, thanks."

He heard his uncle let out a sigh. Though, Luke didn't have to listen to it much longer once sleep had finally overtaken the boy again. The boy did wake up briefly when Luke tried to change it, telling his uncle, he needed the music to be able to sleep.

After a while, sleep fully overcame the boy. At some point, Jess felt himself be lifted and carried somewhere but once he felt the softness of a pillow and covers, he was out again.

Jess awoke the next morning to the morning sun shining through. Lifting his head, he wondered if the events of last night were all a dream or if they really happened.

He heard the steady breathing of his mom sleeping right beside him. Chuck would never allow him to sleep with them in their bed and Jess, for sure, would not want to sleep in the same bed as that guy. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Jess looked over to indeed see his mom right beside him, still sleeping. He turned over and looked around at his surroundings. None of it looked familiar at all.

Sitting up, Jess tossed the covers back and slid down from the bed. That's when he noticed, not only were his shoes removed, but his jacket as well. Looking around the room they were in, Jess noticed it was one big room with a small kitchen nearby and what seemed like a bathroom as the only separate room from the rest of the place.

The boy wandered around, looking for any indication of where he was. On the shelves were framed pictures, a few were even of him, growing up, starting from the day he was born. A lot of them were of his uncle either fishing or camping, while others were of a family with a mom, dad, a boy, and a little girl, a little bit younger than the boy. Jess assumed the boy was his uncle if the backwards baseball cap was any clue to go by. There was also an abnormal amount of pictures of fish on the walls, as well. Even to a five-year-old, Jess knew that was weird.

By the door was a group of different kinds of trophies mostly for track sitting on a table. As Jess was getting a good look at one in particular, the door opened, surprising the boy. Jess spun around on his heel to see his uncle coming in, dressed differently than he had been the night before. He was also carrying two plates of what looked like breakfast food.

"Hey, you're finally up. Made you and your mom some breakfast. Thought you could use some of your favorite pancakes you like." Luke took them over to the table over in the kitchen area.

Jess followed and climbed onto the chair to sit.

His uncle set the plate down in front of him and placed his mom's on the table across from him.

"Your mom still asleep?" Luke pointed over towards the bed with his thumb.

Jess nodded. "Could I get a fork, Uncle Luke?" he asked, politely.

"Oh, right," his uncle suddenly remembered and grabbed one from a drawer, bringing it over to him.

Jess thanked him before digging into the pancakes his uncle had already cut up for him.

"Want anything to drink?" Luke asked next.

"Milk, please?"

"Coming right up." His uncle went to the fridge to grab the milk, taking it over to the counter where he got a glass from the cupboard directly at his head and poured some milk for his nephew, bringing it over to set beside his plate.

"Did ya sleep okay?" he asked as his uncle put the milk away.

Jess nodded, looking up from his food. Better than the kid had been able to in a while. Usually, some kind of noise outside usually woke him up but wherever they were, was pretty quiet. He reached for the glass of milk to wash down the bite of pancake he had eaten, wiping off his upper lip on his sleeve. "What happened to Chuck? Did you take care of him?"

"Don't worry about him, Jess. You won't have to see him ever again," his uncle promised, sitting down on the side of the table beside his nephew. "Did he ever hurt you?"

"He shoved me when I tried to protect Mom and then threw me into my room."

"But, nothing else?"

Jess shook his head before taking another bite. Once he swallowed, he said, "Mom wouldn't let him."

Luke breathed in through his nose and let it out the same way. "Well, I guess that's good." He still did not sound thrilled his mom was being hurt, much less letting a guy like that anywhere near them.

"Are we gunna live with you now, Uncle Luke?"

"No, my place isn't big enough to take you and your mom in. Once she wakes up and sobers up, her and I are gonna have a chat, and then we'll see about finding you both a new place to live, as far away from Chuck, as possible."

Jess frowned at what was left of his food. If it wasn't Chuck, the boy was sure some other deadbeat loser would take his place. It was always inevitable.

"For now, the two of you can stay here for as long as that takes. Okay?" His uncle leaned forward on his arms towards the boy. Unlike the guys that his mom would get together with, his uncle always seemed to smell so much better than them. Amazing what a decent shower can do.

About that moment, the boys heard a moan come from the bed, followed by, "Where am I?" Of course, his mom would not remember Luke had taken them home with him.

Jess slid down from his chair and hurried over to the bed just as his mom was peering around the room. Her eyes looked sunken and dark. "Good morning, Mom," he greeted, cheerfully. It was then the boy noticed her head was wrapped in a bandage while a piece of gauze was taped over the bruise by her eye.

"Jess? How did we get here?"

Before Jess could answer, his uncle wandered over, stopping behind him. "Jess called me, last night and told me everything."

"What? Why? Where's Chuck?" His mom looked greatly concerned for the loser.

"He's history, Liz. I made sure of that."

His mom shot to her feet. "Why the hell would you do that for?"

"He was hurting you, Liz, what was I supposed to do? You and Jess were in danger with that guy hanging around," he pointed out.

His mom was quickly looking around at the floor. When she spotted her shoes, she slipped them on. "Get your stuff, Jess. We're leaving."

Jess didn't move.

"What are you waiting for?" she snapped at him.

The sudden raise in pitch made him jump. He looked behind him in hope his uncle would say something.

"Come on, Liz. We can talk about this and I promise we can find you both another place to live," he tried to persuade her to stay.

"There's nothing wrong with the one we have now," she continued to argue with him. "Jess, let's go! Chuck's probably going crazy wondering where we are."

Jess felt himself duck over to grab a hold of his uncle's jeans. He managed to squeak out, "Can't we stay with Uncle Luke, Mom? Please?"

"No, sweetie, we have to go home. Get your shoes and jacket on so we can go." Liz had started searching for his shoes, moving around the bed until she found them and sat down to loosen the laces. She patted the bed beside her for Jess to sit down and offered to help him.

Jess still wouldn't budge.

"Sweetheart, please don't do this. My head is already killing me and we have a long bus ride home, so can you please come here and let me put your shoes on?" she continued to plead with him.

Thankfully, his uncle tried to back him up. "Liz, can't you see he doesn't want to go back there? The guy's no good and not fit to be around anyone, really, much less a kid."

"Chuck's not a bad guy, he's just...not a happy person when he has a little too much to drink. It's fine," she tried to insist but his uncle didn't look convinced.

"Look at you, Liz," he pointed a hand out towards her. "How is any of that okay? What if it's your son, next?"

"Chuck didn't do this. I just fell, that's all." She could not make eye contact with either of her boys when his mom said that.

"You fell because Chuck hit you," Jess told her.

"Jess, stop. You weren't there."

"No, but I heard everything. Plus, he hit you again when he grabbed me."

"I said, that's enough, Jess. Now, I'm not gonna ask you again, come over here and put your shoes on. We have to go."

But, Jess shook his head and buried his face in his uncle's pants leg.

He heard his mother let out a tired sigh. "Fine. If you want to stay here, then stay." Footsteps were heard heading towards the door, followed by his uncle's voice.

"Liz, come on. We can work something out."

But, the door opened and slammed shut.

Fresh tears immediately erupted from his eyes, soaking his uncle's pants leg. Just as he felt his uncle's hand on the top of his head, Jess bolted from the apartment, stopping long enough to open the door, and hurried down a set of stairs. He caught up to his mom just as she was leaving what looked like a restaurant.

"Mom, don't go!" he called out, ignoring the fact they had an audience. All the boy cared about was keeping his mom from going back to that loser.

His mom looked back. "Jess, you know I can't stay here. If you want to stay here with your uncle, then I guess that's fine. But, Chuck is waiting for me."

Jess ran over and tried to squeeze his way between her and the door. "Don't go," he continued to tell her, shaking her head. "Please, don't go. I don't want him to hurt you anymore. Please let Uncle Luke help us."

His mom closed her eyes, letting out another sigh. Getting down to his level, she placed her hands on his shoulders and looked him straight in the eye. In a low voice, she reminded him, "Please, be quiet, Jess. There are people around us. Chuck is good to us. He just had a bad day, yesterday. I promise it'll be better, but we have to go."

But, Jess shook his head, shaking it like crazy. "I don't care who hears! The guy's a big dick and you know it, Mom!"

His mom took a hold of his chin. "You do not say words like that, young man. Do you understand me?"

He tried to shake his head out of her hold but his mom kept a firm grip on his chin.

"I said, do you understand me? Answer the question, Jess."

Tears were building up in the boy's eyes. "You don't care," he mumbled, bitterly.

"You know that's not true. I care about you very much. I love you, you're my sweet, special little boy," she cupped his face in both of her hands.

This time, Jess was able to shake out of her hands. "No, you don't. If you did, you wouldn't bring guys like him around. He can't keep hurting you, Mom. Please…" Jess took in a deep breath, a lone tear falling down his left cheek. "Don't go."

"Oh, Jess, you're too little. I know how much you love to read and how smart you are, but you don't understand this kind of stuff. Please," she touched his shoulders again, holding them, "go get your stuff so we can go."

Jess stared at the woman he loved more than anything. More than reading and Ninja Turtles.

"Please, sweetie. I need to go."

Feeling his feet move, the little boy pinned himself to the door, refusing to budge.

His mom let out a tired sigh. "There's a back entrance, Jess. If you won't come with me," she shrugged, "maybe you'll be more happy with your Uncle Luke." Standing up, she lifted her bag his uncle had brought for her, onto her shoulder and turned to head in another direction. "I'll call in a week when you're ready to come home." That said, his mom left without looking back.

His eyes shut tight as hot tears burned his vision, this time.

"Liz, this is ridiculous!" Jess heard his uncle call after her.

Suddenly, Jess sprang from the door, but he didn't run after his mom, this time. Instead, he dashed around the counter and his uncle's legs, and back up the stairs to his uncle's apartment. From the front door, if one could call it a front door, Jess headed straight for the bathroom to lock himself inside. Only problem was, his uncle didn't have a lock on his bathroom door. Who doesn't have a lock on their bathroom door? Apparently, his uncle.

Jess climbed into the tub and yanked the shower curtain closed before curling into a ball, upright, in the corner. On the way, he had grabbed Michelangelo from where he left him on the bed, holding him while hugging his knees to his chest. Jess then cried into the top of his knees, letting it all out.

How could his mom willingly go back to that dick? Why take that risk? Why deny how awful he really was?

Eventually, after some time had passed, there was a knock on the bathroom door.

"Go away!" he yelled.

"It's me, Jess." The door opened and his uncle appeared, sticking his head inside.

"How come you don't have a lock on your door?" Jess asked, in an annoyed, bitter tone, though it wasn't meant to be directed at his uncle.

"Because living alone, I never felt locking the door was needed," he answered.

Jess turned his head, dropping it on his knees. He heard his uncle come in more. Before sitting, Jess heard him drop the toilet lid.

"Listen, buddy," his uncle began, "I know this isn't right and I wish I could make this better. But, your mom's a grown adult that can make her own decisions even if we don't like them. I tried all I could. I went after her after you came back up here. Pleaded with her until the bus came but she still got on."

Jess squeezed his action figure, tighter.

There was a moment of silence until he spoke some more. "You're welcome to stay here as long as you want, Jess. If I could only save one of you, then," he paused. "I'm glad one of you is safe. All we can do is hope your mom comes to her senses."

Jess searched around at the white, tiled wall behind the tub. His vision was blurring with a film of fresh tears.

"I'll talk to Tom, our town's contractor, to see about doing some extensions to the place so you can have your own space. There's a school close by you can go to, and we have a bookstore. I know how much you love to read. Maybe I can even take ya fishing one weekend. How does that sound? Sure would be nice to have someone there for a change."

While his uncle was rambling, Jess slowly turned his head back so his face was buried in his knees.

"Kids have always freaked me out. I still remember that jam phase you went through between the ages of two and three, where every time I came over, you always had jam hands. You don't still do that, do you?"

Jess shook his head slowly without lifting it. "No," he answered when Jess remembered the shower curtain was blocking his uncle's view.

"That's good." There was a long, awkward pause in which nobody said anything. It was still apparent his uncle was uncomfortable. The fact he was still willing to let Jess stay there, somehow made it better. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, I have no idea what I'm doing, but maybe we can teach each other. Help the other out? What do you say?"

Jess finally lifted his head to look over in his direction at his uncle's silhouette on the curtain. Before he knew it, the boy was throwing open the curtain and lunging forward towards his uncle and wrapping his small arms around his neck. Jess practically tripped over the side of the tub, but thankfully, his uncle caught him just in time and allowed Jess to hug him.

Neither one of them said another word. Jess just sunk more and more into his uncle's embrace, who held a hand to the back of his head.

Guess wherever this was, was home now. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. Can't be worse than what Jess had already lived through. He just wished his mom would have stayed. At least he had his uncle, and Mikey, whom the boy held against his uncle's upper back.

The End

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **So, yeah, that's pretty much it. Like I said, it was an idea that's been fighting inside my head that I've kept trying to push to the back of my mind. Plus, it's nice to write something short every once in a while. But, now that this is done, I promise I am gonna work on the next chapter for _Healing Love_ over the weekend and will try to have it uploaded by Monday. **


End file.
